A Normal Relationship
by LemonStar
Summary: Barney/Robin. To most, Barney and Robin didn’t have a normal relationship. But to them, and for them, it was absolutely perfect.


_A/N: Just a short pointless story I wrote about Barney and Robin because I simply adore them._

* * *

Their relationship wasn't what some – mostly Marshall and Lily or even Ted – would consider to be normal.

They didn't hold hands or kiss one another while out in public. They never ate off of each other's plates and he still said things that were highly offensive that would make them all stare at him in shock. But later, when they were alone, she would usually always laugh because whether she cared to admit it or not, they shared the same sense of humor. That was something he did for her. He always made her laugh or smile – even when he wasn't really trying to be funny. He was just being Barney.

And she was slowly falling in love with him.

He allowed her to see parts of himself that he had never showed to anyone before. He took her back to his apartment after nights at MacLaren's and in the mornings, he made coffee and she made breakfast and they ate together. He never rushed her out and he never acted uncomfortable with her around. When he found that she had brought over a toothbrush to keep in his bathroom, she expected a panic attack. He didn't say anything though but she didn't rush anything with him and waited two more months before she brought over a tube of her moisturizer – or face cream if Lily was around. He still only had one pillow on his bed but she supposed that they were taking it slow. Very slow. And usually, when she spent the night at Barney's, they weren't doing a lot of sleeping anyway though that would require her own pillow.

Everyone had seen Barney out of his suits a couple of times – when he had run in the New York marathon and at Mark's funeral when he had an entire theory on why he wouldn't "suit up" for that kind of event – but Robin saw him wearing fleece pants that he used to make fun of Ted for owning and tee-shirts and sweatshirts. They would watch _The Price is Right_ on his 300 inch television, which still hurt her eyes, and she would laugh as he shouted out the prices of the prizes, usually getting them exactly correct. She knew that she was the only girl, the only person, who ever saw him doing these things and she loved that she was the one he showed this side to.

Things were still sometimes uncomfortable in front of Ted but since the two of them hardly acted like a couple, the five were able to still hang out and do things together without it being a constant reminder that Barney and Robin were still dating. Of course, sometimes, they did something that reminded everyone that not only were they sleeping together, but they were actually forming some type of a relationship.

When they were all sitting at their usual table at MacLaren's, Barney was talking of some ridiculous plan he had concocted for the legendary night he was going to show some of his clients from work and Robin had lifted her drink up to take a sip, the napkin sticking to the bottom of the glass. Without missing a beat in his story, Barney reached over and peeled the napkin away, putting it back down on the table for her, Marshall and Lily watching the scene intently, slightly shocked, from across them and Ted in the chair at the head of the table. It was a simple gesture but there was so much more to Barney doing something for someone else, especially a sweet action like that for a girl, and the rest of them were shocked by it.

Also, when they thought no one was watching, Barney would always open the door for her before they walked into MacLaren's and she would always smile faintly at him before tilting her head up and kissing him softly on the lips. They were one of those couples that were sweet to one another and acted as if they truly liked one another when they thought no one was around to see. Lily didn't see why they couldn't act like that though all of the time. She saw how much Robin smiled now since she started dating Barney and Marshall and Ted noticed how Barney didn't even look at passing girls in the bar anymore.

Of course, like with any relationship, there were still arguments and disagreements but they never lasted long and in record time, they were back together. It was as if now that they were together, they couldn't be apart and that was another thing that was so odd to Marshall, Lily and Ted about their relationship. Two of the most independent people they knew, people who loved their own space and who loved time to themselves, seemed to love being together rather then spending anytime apart. Their arguments were never public. Robin didn't even tell Lily about them despite the constant nagging Lily would try to get it out of her best friend. What happened between Barney and Robin was always strictly between the two of them.

It wasn't a normal relationship. But to them, it was the best thing they had ever had. It was hard to explain and their friends had certainly tried. But they didn't feel the need to explain themselves, or their relationship for that matter. It was theirs and only theirs to be concerned about.

Everything was private. Four months into them beginning to date, when Robin came over to Barney's apartment to look for one of her sweaters she was convinced she had left there the other night, Barney was there and he eagerly grabbed her hand and tugged her towards his bedroom.

"Alright," he said, his other hand poised on the doorknob, pausing before opening the door. "Are you ready for this?"

Robin smiled. "Is it going to be legen-"

"Wait for it," he said and she laughed before he swung open the door with a proud grin, pulling her into the bedroom.

At first Robin didn't know what she was looking for but then her eyes fell upon the bed. And there, as if it always had been there, were two pillows. One for him and one for… Robin looked at him, his smile broad, his eyes twinkling with happiness.

And no one knew but that was the first time Robin told him that she loved him. It had been so difficult for her to say those words to Ted for the first time, but with Barney, for some reason, they flowed out as easily as anything she had ever said. But when she told him, when she slid her arms around his neck and kissed him and told him that she loved him, she had never meant three words more than those.

"I love you, Barney," she whispered to him, smiling at him, his arms sliding around her waist.

These were moments no one got to see and no one would ever find out about. To most, Barney and Robin didn't have a normal relationship. But to them, and for them, it was absolutely perfect.


End file.
